The liquid crystal display (LCD) apparatus has now become the mainstream display apparatus. A light source is necessary for displaying images since the liquid crystal molecule itself does not emit light. A liquid crystal apparatus may be reflective, transmissive or transflective based on the type of its light source. A transitive LCD mainly uses a backlight as its light source and a transparent electrode as its transmission zone where light may pass for displaying images. A reflective LCD mainly uses a front light or an external environmental light as its light source and a reflective electrode as its reflection zone where light may be reflected for displaying images. A transflective LCD is a combination of a transitive LCD and a reflective LCD, on which the reflective zone and the transmission zone are both arranged such that the backlight and the front light (or the external environmental light) may be utilized simultaneously for displaying images.
The transflective LCD apparatus has the advantages of both the transitive LCD and the reflective LCD apparatus, for example, it may shows a bright image in a dark environment or it may save power when the light source is enough. However, since the transflective LCD apparatus includes the structures of both the transitive LCD and the reflective LCD apparatus (a backlight and a reflective layer are both necessary for the transflective LCD apparatus), the transflective LCD apparatus is usually thick. Furthermore, a portion of light emitted by the backlight corresponding to the reflection zone may be blocked and wasted such that the power consumption of the transflective LCD apparatus may be augmented.